A proposal to secure Lubbock’s water future received mixed reviews from Lubbockites at a public forum Thursday evening at Estacado High School.

Fewer than 20 people turned out for the meeting, aimed to give the public its first look at the proposed 2013 Strategic Water Supply Plan that city staff and Lubbock’s Water Advisory Commission vetted for the better part of two years.

“The goal of this plan is to provide a road map to develop and implement sustainable water supplies over the next 100 years,” said Aubrey Spear, Lubbock’s director of water resources.

Kyle Tengler, one of a handful in the audience not affiliated with the city, said he was encouraged by a few points of the proposed plan — especially the emphasis on conservation.

But he questioned the 100-year plan’s sustainability, criticizing such proposals as using more energy to pump additional groundwater from city-owned wells in Bailey County or Canadian River Municipal Water Authority wells in Roberts County, which Spear called a finite resource.

“This is a 100-year plan,” Tengler said. “Sustainability means it can go on forever.”

“They were right in calling it ‘mining water resources,’ ” she said. “That means it’s going to run out.”

Tengler said he was encouraged by the forum’s discussion of reusing water.

The Lubbock Water Advisory Commission and city staff developed the plan, which describes 16 water supply strategies in three areas: surface water, groundwater and reclaimed water.

Reclaimed water strategies include treating used water for potable use or treating non-potable water after it passes down the South Fork of the Brazos River or other bodies of surface water.

Surface water strategies include the continued use of the Lake Alan Henry pipeline, which opened in July, and several area lakes and streams if the city uses a strategy of filling them with reclaimed water.

The plan also estimated potential costs for implementing such plans, projecting $20-to-$30 increases in Lubbock residents’ average monthly water bills by 2025 pending which strategies are used and the success rate of conservation efforts.

Over 100 years, meeting the water demands of a growing Lubbock would vary based on the city’s water use, Spear said.

The price tag for proposed projects to meet those needs could range from $4.1 billion to $10 billion over 100 years — not factoring inflation — Spear said.

Spear said even if Lake Meredith was full, the Canadian River organization’s 322-mile aqueduct from the lake and well fields servicing its 11 member cities, including Lubbock, has limited capacity.

The aqueduct is capable of supplying 118 million gallons per day to member cities.

One strategy involves a potential Canadian River Municipal Water Authority project to create another pipeline from the Roberts County well fields. The project would double capacity, but at an estimated cost of $300 million or more.

Ultimately, the success of the water supply plan will depend in part on the city’s conservation efforts, ranging from current ordinances and water restrictions to rate structures rewarding lower usage and the installation of more efficient fixtures, Spear said.

Thursday’s meeting was the first of two public forums the city will host to get public input.

The second meeting is slated for 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 29 in the Evans Middle School cafeteria, 4211 58th St.

Tengler said he’s hopeful more people will participate in the next meeting.

“The biggest thing is education,” he said. “We’re letting other people decide our fates in terms of water, and water is life.”

The water advisory commission has reviewed sections of the plan since summer 2012 and will approve a final draft of the plan during its Feb. 1 meeting, Spear said.

The City Council will review and approve the plan in February.

The commission will provide the council a strategic water plan every five years, with the last presented in 2007.

ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here and for
following agreed-upon rules of civility. Posts and
comments do not reflect the views of this site. Posts and comments are
automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some
comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules,
click the "Flag as offensive" link below the comment.